Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Truth is a gay thriller about a troubled young man and his unhealthy relationship with an older man.
Caleb (Sean Paul Lockhart) is emotionally unstable and suffers from abandonment issues. He meets Jeremy (Rob Moretti) via an online dating app. They hook up at Caleb’s place, and Jeremy spends the night. In the morning, while Caleb is still sleeping, Jeremy sneaks out.
A few days later, Jeremy goes into the coffee shop where Caleb works. Caleb is still upset that he’d been abandoned and only halfheartedly responds to Jeremy’s questions. When Jeremy apologizes for leaving without saying goodbye, Caleb’s mood changes. Jeremy asks if he can see him again and they begin dating.
As Caleb spends more time with Jeremy, his fears of abandonment grow. Memories of growing up with his abusive mother surface, and he becomes angry and irritable. Soon it becomes difficult to hold himself together and keep his troubled past a hidden.
When he decides to bring Jeremy flowers unannounced, he discovers that Jeremy also has secrets, and he finally cracks.
Some Thoughts:
Truth is an interesting idea that’s poorly executed. The story wasn’t given any thought, so the characters lack motivation for their actions. The dialog is also clunky, and the acting is atrocious. The only part of the film that works is the pacing, which is the sole reason I didn’t turn it off.
Lockhart and Moretti lack chemistry, so it’s a bit of a stretch to think their relationship would progress past one night of steamy sex. It’s also not clear what Jeremy sees in Caleb. And what makes matters worse is that there’s nothing that defines Jeremy’s character. His past is unknown, his employment is a mystery, and he seems to have very few interests. If we knew something about him, maybe his attraction to Caleb would make sense.
Other than someone who grew up being physically and emotionally abused and was sent to live with a foster family, we know very little about Caleb. Did he ever have friends or go to therapy? How did the foster family deal with his emotional problems? He has a lot of prescription drugs, but who is prescribing them? The movie answers none of these.
It’s also a bit odd that Caleb doesn’t asks Jeremy why they never spend the night at his place. Not only that, but Caleb never even asks where he lives. He does eventually find out by sneaking a peek at Jeremy’s driver’s license, but it feels a bit extreme when he could simply ask.
Jeremy does have a secret that he’s hiding from Caleb, which is supposed to be a big revelation but seems more like it came out of left field. And because it’s never hinted at, it feels fabricated.
The Final Verdict:
Truth is a poorly thought-out thriller that lacks excitement and thrills.